Processing of uranium from raw (natural) form to an enriched usable form, to be used in an enriched nuclear fuel assembly, for example, requires many steps. The uranium, usually in the form of an ore, is processed using various chemicals to remove impurities and enrich the fissionable fraction of the uranium. In a process for making a nuclear fuel assembly, for example, the uranium is usually taken from the ore and the concentration of fissionable uranium atoms is increased on a per volume basis by removing impurities. During this enrichment process, water and soils contact the uranium and become incorporated therein. Sludges also form during the processing or are present in the soils. The sludges, water and soils, as a result of contact with the uranium, often require treatment or long-term disposal to prevent further spread of uranium contamination. Long-term disposal, although a viable option for a facility operator, increases the ultimate economic costs of the facility and limits the overall amount of uranium available to be incorporated into the final product.
To further improve the economy of the enrichment facility, various methodologies have been developed to limit the amount of radioactive wastes. To limit the amount of uranium containing wastes, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,010,671, 6,165,367 and 4,668,482 provide for removal of uranium contamination from differing waste streams.
Currently, there is no process or apparatus which allows for a cost effective removal of uranium from soils when the soils contain chemicals such as ammonium salts, acidic fluorides and other contaminants. Soils containing uranium and base chemicals are either maintained in an in-situ state and capped from external environmental forces or are removed from the ground, deposited into barrels and placed in long term storage.
There is a need to provide an apparatus and method to remove uranium (IV) and uranium (VI) from soils and sands especially when ammonium salts and acidic fluorides are in the soils and sands.
There is a further need for the apparatus and method to remove uranium (IV) and uranium (VI) to minimize ultimate disposal volumes of contaminated waste for nuclear processing facilities.
There is a still further need to provide a method and apparatus for removing uranium (IV) and uranium (VI) from soils, while providing a system which interfaces with existing treatment options for sludges and water processing for uranium contamination.
There is a further need for an apparatus and method to allow uranium (IV) and uranium (VI) contained in soils and sands to be reused and incorporated into a final desired uranium containing product, thereby limiting the amount of uranium needed for processing.